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Turn thou us, O good Lord, Z62

Introduction

Turn thou us, O good Lord is a curious work which is found in the first of three volumes collected together by William Flackton and now housed in the British Museum (Add.30931). The inscription (in Flackton’s hand) reads ‘The 3.d Collect for the 30 of January. on the Martyrdom of King Cha- by Henry Purcell’ and at the end the copyist has written ‘Mr. Hen Pursell. of Westminster’. Those comments notwithstanding, there is must be some doubt as to whether the anthem is by Purcell: in 1910 the scholar Godfrey Arkright questioned whether Purcell was the author.

Much of the work is scored, unusually, for a solo tenor: the writing is at times rather ungainly, especially the word setting. ‘Spare thy people, good Lord’ is set for a trio of soloists and leads into a choral reworking of a passage, setting the same words, from the magnificent ten-part anthem Blow up the trumpet in Sion: cut down to only four parts, the sumptuous textures of that anthem are sadly absent here. For ‘Hear us, O Lord, for thy mercy is great’ the composer returns to the solo voice, closing the anthem with a repeat of the trio and chorus ‘Spare thy people’.

'It is hard to speak too highly of this enterprise … much enjoyment to be had' (Gramophone)'the performances from The King’s Consort and its Choir, the Choir of New College and a starry line-up of soloists have such qualities of concentratio ...» More

Turn thou us, O good Lord, and so shall we be turned, who turn to thee in weeping, fasting and praying. For thou art a merciful God, full of compassion, and of great pity. Thou sparest when we deserve punishment, and in thy wrath thinkest upon mercy. Spare thy people, good Lord, spare them: and let not thine heritage be brought to confusion. Hear us, O Lord, for thy mercy is great; and after the multitude of thy mercies, look up on us.